The NATO leaders have criticised Beijing for the conflict, calling Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. This is the alliance’s harshest criticism of Beijing to date.
While there have been past spats between NATO members and China, the organisation had previously refrained from making such direct accusations against Beijing regarding the conflict in Ukraine. This declaration was part of a communique released by the alliance on Wednesday during its 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC.
What has NATO accused China of doing in Ukraine?
During the NATO summit, which started on Tuesday and ends on Thursday, leaders from all 32 NATO members signed off on a 38-point declaration. The document accuses China of enabling the war in Ukraine through its “no limits” partnership and support for Russia’s defence industry. The no-limits partnership was announced in February 2022 after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladmir Putin, days before Russia launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. It declares that there are “no limits” to the friendship between the two countries and there are “no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation”.
The NATO declaration explicitly requests China to “cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort”, including the supply of dual-use materials that can be used in weapons.
“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation,” the communique reads.
How has China responded?
A spokesperson from the Chinese mission to the European Union released a statement on Thursday in response, saying the communique is full of “Cold War mentality and belligerent rhetoric”. Additionally, the spokesperson said the content of the communique pertaining to China is rife with “provocations, lies, incitement and smears”. “China’s core position on the Ukraine issue is to promote peace talks and political settlement, which has been widely recognized and appreciated by the international community,” according to the spokesperson. In February 2023, China put forth a 12-point plan to end the Ukraine war. While Russia has since described it as a potential roadmap for negotiations to end the war, Ukraine has rejected the Chinese proposal.
What else has NATO accused China of?
NATO also accused China in its summit communique of posing “systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security” through cyber- and hybrid activities, including disinformation. The alliance has accused China of working in concert with Russia to “undercut and reshape the rules-based international order”, calling this a “cause for profound concern”. Russia and China have long accused the West of hypocrisy when it comes to the implementation of international law.
At the summit, NATO also accused China of engaging in “coercive tactics and efforts” to divide the alliance.
While the communique does not flesh out that allegation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said in recent days that Ankara is eager to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a security forum led by China and Russia. Turkey, a NATO member, has been an SCO dialogue partner since 2012. On Tuesday, Xi also met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Hungary is a NATO member.
The NATO allegations that Beijing is attempting to hurt the alliance and its members come as a result of the “hot box of low-intensity operations that China is waging against the West”, Mathieu Boulegue, a consulting fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank, told Al Jazeera. Boulegue said China appears to be using the same tactics, such as spying and economic subversion, as Russia although at a lower intensity for now.